Biomedical subjects

Jennifer R Mertens

Publications and source records attributed to Jennifer R Mertens.

4 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2003

Short-term alcohol and drug treatment outcomes predict long-term outcome.

INTRODUCTION: Although addiction is recognized as a chronic, relapsing condition, few treatment studies, and none in a commercially insured managed care population, have measured long-term outcomes. We examined the relationship of 6-month treatment outcomes to abstinence 5 years post-treatment, and whether the predictors of abstinence at 5 years were different for those who were, and were not, abstinent at 6 months. METHODS: The sample (N=784) is from an outpatient (day hospital and traditional outpatient) managed care chemical dependency program. Subjects were interviewed at baseline, 6 months, and 5 years. Logistic regression analysis was used to assess which individual, treatment and extra-treatment characteristics predicted alcohol and drug abstinence at 5 years. RESULTS: Abstinence at 6 months was an important predictor of abstinence at 5 years. Among those abstinent at 6 months, predictors of abstinence at 5 years were older age, being female, 12-step meeting attendance, and recovery-oriented social networks. Among those not abstinent at 6 months, being alcohol dependent rather than drug dependent, 12-step meeting attendance, treatment readmission, and recovery-oriented social networks predicted abstinence at 5 years. CONCLUSION: Our findings demonstrate a clear association between short-term and long-term treatment success. In addition, these results strongly support the importance of recovery-oriented social networks for those with good short-term outcomes, and the beneficial impact of readmission for those not initially successful in treatment.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2003

Services integration and cost-effectiveness.

Alcohol treatment services are increasingly combined with other health and social services to address the needs of multiple-problem clients. Hence, it has been of growing policy interest to find the most effective and the most cost-effective ways of linking these services. This symposium presents some recent studies in this area. The small but growing body of studies in this area has great potential to inform public policy debates.

Alcoholism↗

PubMed2002

Coping among individuals seeking private chemical dependence treatment: gender differences and impact on length of stay in treatment.

BACKGROUND: Length of stay in treatment and coping skills are both predictive of chemical dependence and abuse treatment outcomes. However, little is known about whether coping strategies are related to length of stay in treatment. Because predictors of length of stay in treatment vary by gender, it also may be reasonable to expect gender differences in coping strategies as well as in the relationship between coping and LOS in treatment. METHODS: We examined gender differences in baseline coping strategies, and coping strategies as predictors of length of stay in treatment, among 747 (433 men, 314 women) individuals who entered chemical dependence and abuse treatment in a private, managed care facility. RESULTS: Women reported using more emotional discharge (behavioral attempts to reduce tension by expression of negative feelings), cognitive avoidance (cognitive attempts to avoid thinking realistically about the problem), resigned acceptance (cognitive attempts to react to the problem by accepting it), and seeking support/guidance (behavioral attempts to seek information, guidance, or support). Gender differences for emotional discharge disappeared after we controlled for depressive symptom and drug problem severities. Greater use of seeking alternative rewards (behavioral attempts to get involved in substitute activities and create new sources of satisfaction), less use of emotional discharge, and older age were significant predictors of longer length of stay, with no gender differences found. CONCLUSIONS: This study provides evidence for identifying and decreasing the use of emotional discharge early in treatment, possibly through the use of intervention strategies such as anger management, cognitive restructuring, or motivational interviewing, as well as encouraging an increase in participation in alternative activities.

Adaptation, Psychological↗

PubMed2002

Effects of managed care on alcohol and other drug (AOD) treatment.

The article represents the proceedings of a symposium at the 2001 RSA Meeting in Montreal, Canada. The organizer/chair was Stephen Magura. The presentations examined: (1) How managed care organization policies may affect enrollees' use of alcohol and other drug (AOD) treatment, by Constance Horgan and associates; (2) The determinants of patients' access to and utilization of AOD treatment in a large health maintenance organization, by Jennifer R. Mertens and Constance Weisner; (3) The impact on treatment access and costs of a statewide carve-out for AOD treatment for Medicaid, by Donald Shepard and associates; and (4) The predictive validity of a new patient assessment technology developed, in part, to better justify AOD treatment in response to the demands of managed care, by Stephen Magura and associates.

Alcoholism↗